The new cultivar is the product of chance discovery. The new variety originated as a naturally occurring whole plant mutation of Begonia elatior ‘HV01BI’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,643. Begonia ‘HVRIDARK’ is the same variety described in EU application number 2012/1922, grant pending.
The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Jos ten Have, a citizen of Netherlands, during 2011 in a commercial greenhouse belonging to the inventor in Maasland, Netherlands. After identifying the new variety as a potentially interesting selection, the inventor continued confidential testing and propagation of ‘HVRIDARK’, assessing stability of the unique characteristics of this variety.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘HVRIDARK’ was first performed at a greenhouse in Maasland, Netherlands, by vegetative cuttings in Autumn of 2012. Access to all plants was restricted, as plants were kept in locations that are not open to the public. First sale of the new variety was during September of 2013. Through subsequent propagation multiple generations have been reproduced, which have shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.